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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (153407)	12/6/2004 10:36:42 AM
From: cnyndwllr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Neocon, re: Five weeks to get clear what had happened? Not too bad, actually. And it belies accusations of cover up......... Actually the article CLEARLY illustrates that you are WRONG on both points. Not just a little bit wrong, but wrong in missing the central point of the article, misinterpreting the obvious implications of the article and wrong in refusing to allow unpleasant facts to reach your left brain. You see, the actual facts were clear to those on the hill (that would be Tillman's Platoon buddies) on the MINUTE, HOUR AND DAY of Tillman's death. They were clear to some of the "shooters" on the day of his death. There was NO alternative set of facts for the military to sort through. The Army knew what had happened and it DELIBERATELY CHOSE TO CREATE A FICTION THAT WOULD FURTHER IT'S POLITICAL AGENDA. Just like the little Jessica Lynch hero story where they floated her as a war hero with a pile of dead Iraqis in front of her and then our special forces filmed themselves conducting a "daring night rescue under hostile fire," when there was no resistance or insurgents at the scene, this was a deliberate fabrication at the highest levels of the command. They not only concealed the "bad" facts, they made up "good" facts to create a fiction that he died valiantly fighting against, and at the hands of, insurgents. But you say the article "belies accusations of cover up...." When you typed that did your face feel really, really hot? Maybe you'd like to read further? msnbc.msn.com Excerpts: "By Steve Coll Updated: 12:53 a.m. ET Dec. 6, 2004 Second in a two-part series. Just days after Pat Tillman died from friendly fire on a desolate ridge in southeastern Afghanistan, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command released a brief account of his last moments. The April 30, 2004, statement awarded Tillman a posthumous Silver Star for combat valor and described how a section of his Ranger platoon came under attack. "He ordered his team to dismount and then maneuvered the Rangers up a hill near the enemy's location," the release said. "As they crested the hill, Tillman directed his team into firing positions and personally provided suppressive fire ... Tillman's voice was heard issuing commands to take the fight to the enemy forces." It was a stirring tale and fitting eulogy for the Army's most famous volunteer in the war on terrorism, a charismatic former pro football star whose reticence, courage and handsome beret-draped face captured for many Americans the best aspects of the country's post-Sept. 11 character. It was also a distorted and incomplete narrative, according to dozens of internal Army documents obtained by The Washington Post that describe Tillman's death by fratricide after a chain of botched communications, a misguided order to divide his platoon over the objection of its leader and undisciplined firing by fellow Rangers. Truth glossed over The Army's public release made no mention of friendly fire, even though at the time it was issued, investigators in Afghanistan had already taken at least 14 sworn statements from Tillman's platoon members that made clear the true causes of his death. The statements included a searing account from the Ranger nearest Tillman during the firefight, who quoted him as shouting "Cease fire! Friendlies!" with his last breaths." If the army or the government told you fire was water you'd probably grab a bar of soap and dive right in. Ed